For most of her life, Maddie Block was a daddy’s girl – at least, her dad thought so.
Her childhood was marked by Mediterranean cruises, European vacations and the comfort of a spacious family home in New Mexico.
When it was time for college, her Air Force veteran father, Jay Block, now a Republican state senator, willingly covered the expenses, even using his military benefits to pay for it.
In a conversation with the Daily Mail, Block reminisces about a particularly proud moment: taking Maddie, then 16, to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam to instill the significance of their Jewish heritage.
However, he says that the formerly close bond has been broken after Maddie criticized her father in viral online rants following his acceptance of a state-funded diplomatic trip to Israel.
Block told the Daily Mail that the videos – which racked up millions of views on social media – have ‘torn our family apart.’
He claimed the fallout has brought death threats, FBI visits and fears for his safety in today’s climate of political violence.
‘As a father, I gave her a very privileged life, and this is happening to many families where [children] are indoctrinated and turn against you,’ he shared with the Daily Mail.
‘What my daughter doesn’t mention is that I forfeited my military benefits to cover her undergraduate degree, and her master’s degree is being funded by her college fund.’
‘She never talks about all the Mediterranean cruises and resorts,’ he noted, recalling trips to the Canary Islands, Majorca, London – cherished memories that he says have been tarnished by his daughter’s public outbursts.
New Mexico State Senator Jay Block said his family has been ‘torn apart’ by his daughter Maddie’s ‘nasty’ attacks on him over politics, saying she has brought death threats and visits from the FBI. They are pictured together in happier times on a trip to the Anne Frank House
Maddie Block, the daughter of the New Mexico Republican Senator, went viral last month as she slammed her father as a ‘loser politician’ for going on a trip with other US lawmakers to Israel
The senator said his relationship with his daughter went sideways when he began supporting Donald Trump in 2016.
Their bond worsened when she ‘bought full-in’ to Covid-19 lockdowns and became a feverish supporter of masking.
He told the Daily Mail their family was dismayed when she praised Luigi Mangione for killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in 2024, and insisted that was ‘not the way we raised her.’
Maddie has since shifted her focus to pro-Palestine content on social media. Block said, at the moment, ‘she just can’t forgive me for being a Republican.’
He said Maddie’s grandparents have also been heartbroken by the rift after they saw ‘really nasty messages.’
The fallout within the family burst into public view in September as Maddie posted a video to TikTok calling out her father for taking a trip to Israel with other lawmakers.
‘WTF does Netanyahu have to do with any local issues in New Mexico?’ she captioned her clip, which was viewed more than 1.5 million times in a matter of days.
She cited a lengthy X post from her father after the trip that she said peddled talking points from the Israeli government over its war in Gaza.
In her TikTok, Maddie said: ‘I genuinely believe that Israel is, like, paying my dad now to peddle propaganda…
‘How much are they paying my dad? Like, how much is his soul? Because it seems like he has sold his soul to the devil.’
She also mocked her father repeatedly and called him ‘just a state senator, he’s not even a US senator.’ She said on camera that she hoped her video ‘will be the end of my dad’s political career.’
Block said he worked hard to give his daughter a ‘very, very privileged life’, but their fallout over politics means she won’t even speak to him as she slams him in public for millions of views on social media
Block said his daughter Maddie’s videos have launched a wave of abuse at their family, and said his wife is ‘extremely worried about my safety’ given the climate of political violence in the US
Block argued that it should be important to all US lawmakers – local and national – to keep an interest in the Middle East.
‘What happens in the Middle East affects us all,’ he told the Daily Mail, citing a rise in anti-Semitic attacks in the US this year such as a flamethrower attack in Colorado in June and the murders of two Israeli embassy workers in Washington, DC, in May.
‘There has been so much leftist, pro-Palestine, pro-Hamas violence in the United States… I never would have imagined it.’
Block said this violent rhetoric has been turned on him thanks to his daughter’s videos. He said he has had ‘two conversations with the FBI, I’ve had numerous death threats, this has been picked up by anti-Jewish activists.
‘With the political climate the way it is and recent violence, my wife is extremely worried about my safety.’
Block said this is not the first time his daughter’s social media rants have affected his political career.
‘When I was running for the State Senate in 2024, a lot of people became aware of my daughter’s horrible actions against me.’
She had previously posted about her father ‘infecting’ people when he wouldn’t wear a mask during Covid, and claimed he called her ‘disgusting’ over their political disagreements.
Asked about Maddie’s past tweets alleging such arguments, Block responded: ‘She has constantly attacked me and that’s ok. I will always love her and I forgive her for all she has said and done to me.’
Maddie previously shared that it was their differing views on the COVID-19 pandemic that led to the end of their relationship in November 2020
Block said this is not the first time his daughter’s social media rants have affected his political career, and recalled: ‘When I was running for the State Senate in 2024, a lot of people became aware of my daughter’s horrible actions against me’
Block seen greeting President Donald Trump on a trip to New Mexico in 2019
Block told the Daily Mail his time serving in Afghanistan in the Air Force and trips to Nazi concentration camps ‘really shaped my thinking’ of the Middle East.
He is disappointed that his daughter disagrees with him so vehemently. ‘She’s cut off all ties with me,’ he said.
‘No matter what happens and what she says, I love my daughter. I forgive her, but she doesn’t want to talk to me and she’s not ever going to forgive me for being a Republican.’
Maddie did not respond to the Daily Mail’s requests for comment via social media.
